OpenClaw 0.9 CLI Removal Causes Agent Disruption
CLI Removal in OpenClaw 0.9 Breaks Existing Workflows
A developer encountered a disruption when their AI agent attempted to update OpenClaw, resulting in the CLI being removed from their system. The issue stems from a major breaking change in OpenClaw 0.9 that completely removed the command-line interface.
Specific Details from the Incident
The user was trying to have a sub-agent use Sonnet to code and requested their minimax2.7 default Agent to make a change. The agent returned this output:
Update failed — important finding: npm warn deprecated [email protected] : as of v0.8 the CLI was removed. Use the OpenClaw Hub app or the Agent SDK instead. OpenClaw 0.9 dropped the CLI entirely. The openclaw gateway start, openclaw status etc. commands we use are gone in 0.9. That's a major breaking change. We're stuck on 0.8.52 which has the CLI but also the sessions_spawn model bug. Riley on M2.7 is a known limitation until OpenClaw fixes the bug or restores CLI support. Want me to look into the OpenClaw Hub app or Agent SDK as an alternative?
After telling the agent to update, the system "went offline." The user could still access their mission control panel via local and Tailscale, and the data appeared accurate, but Telegram chat functionality stopped working.
CLI Commands No Longer Available
When attempting to restart the gateway via SSH, the user received:
aspen@aspen:~$ openclaw gateway openclaw: command not found aspen@aspen:~$
The source confirms that OpenClaw 0.9 "dropped the CLI entirely" and specifically mentions that commands like openclaw gateway start and openclaw status are "gone in 0.9." The deprecated version mentioned is [email protected].
Workaround Limitations
Staying on version 0.8.52 maintains CLI functionality but comes with the "sessions_spawn model bug." The source notes that "Riley on M2.7 is a known limitation until OpenClaw fixes the bug or restores CLI support." The agent suggested alternatives: the OpenClaw Hub app or the Agent SDK.
📖 Read the full source: r/openclaw
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